In recent years, various methods for treating cancer have been developed. In particular, immunotherapy, which can enhance patient's immunocompetence, has gathered attention. Examples of immunotherapy include, for example, cellular immunotherapy and the like.
Cellular immunotherapy, which is also referred to as adoptive immunotherapy and the like, is intended for enhancing patient's immunocompetence by activating and proliferating immune cells from the patient in vitro and then returning the cells to that patient. For example, the LAK therapy, which is one example of cellular immunotherapy, involves separating mononuclear cells from a blood sample withdrawn from a patient, and allowing the resulting mononuclear cells to differentiate mainly into cytotoxic T cells and the like and then returning the cytotoxic T cells and the like into the patient's body. Further, a method in which cells such as NK cells are used has been known as another cellular immunotherapy (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (Translation of PCT Application), Publication No. 2011-529341